1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates an information processing apparatus, such as a personal computer, a digital TV or a set-top box, and an image processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, personal computers of various types, such as a notebook type and a desktop type, have widely been used. The personal computers of these types include those which play back moving picture data by software. In addition, recently, there has been the advent of software having a resolution-enhancing function (up-convert function) for generating image data having a higher resolution than input image data.
As a method for resolution enhancement, there is known a frames degradation inverse transform method which is disclosed, for instance, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-188680. In this frames degradation inverse transform method, attention is paid to the fact that a subject, which appears in a reference frame, also appears in another frame. The movement of the subject is detected with a high precision that is less than a pixel interval. Thereby, a plurality of sample values with slightly different positions can be obtained with respect to the same local part of the subject.
In the frames degradation inverse transform method, however, many low-resolution images are necessary in order to obtain a sufficient number of sample values, and this requires a large memory capacity and a large arithmetic process amount. In addition, usually, the arithmetic process amount, which is needed for the resolution-enhancing process, varies depending on the image quality of a moving picture signal that is to be processed.
In order to display a moving picture signal with a standard resolution on a high-resolution display in real time, without causing problems such as frame dropping or display delay, it is necessary to make the time, which is needed for a resolution-enhancing process per frame, fall within a predetermined target time.